This article reports a physicochemical comparison of synthetic and biological Hydroxyapatite (HAp). Eight samples were separated into two groups: bio and commercial hydroxyapatite (bio-HAp and commercial-HAp). The bio-HAp group containing defat, alkaline, and calcined samples taken from bovine bone were obtained by using three different treatments, in order to establish their effect on the final product quality. The commercial-HAp group, from different sources: NIST, sigma, apafill G, coralina, and biograft, were analyzed and compared with the bio-HAp results. Thermogravimetric analysis (TG) was used in order to establish thermal degradation of the samples; structural behavior was then analyzed by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) to found the crystalline phases, as well as the crystalline quality. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) was performed in order to identify the corresponding HAp functional groups within the samples. The surface morphology was analyzed by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and the elemental composition was established by using Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES). It was found that the calcination process obtains HAp with comparable quality to the commercial samples. A crystallinity greater than 62% after the alkaline process was found. Additionally, the surface of the alkaline sample presents a transition behavior between dense and porous morphology. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.